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Nortel president John. Roth says the company will become the leading creator of products and networks for the 'Net, and Belleville's plant will have much to do with that effort W ' do cO cT ITH THE AGE OF the Internet upon us, Nortel continues to develop its products and services to ensure the company remains a leader in the technology that is changing the world. "Probably the biggest global change in the world is the Internet," says Pat Hobbert, vice-president of manufacturing and operations, Enterprise Data Networks, at the Belleville facility. Nortel president and CEO John Roth recently announced the company plans to become the leading creator of products and networks for the Internet. To achieve that goal, Nortel, which has had four lines of business, recently created the fifth unit, Enterprise Data Networks. Nortel plans to make the Internet as easy to access, and as reliable, as voice networks. Hobbert uses the analogy of a two-lane highway, one carrying voice and the other carrying data. Nortel wants to merge both lanes. The Belleville plant will be a major provider of these products and services because 80 per cent of what it does is directed towards this technology and market. He notes the Internet market is growing at an annual rate of about 30 per cent, compared to the voice market's growth rate of between five and seven per cent annually. "This is an extension of what we've been doing," said Hobbert, describing it as a right-angle marketing turn but a natural progression of the plant's activities. What this means for the Belleville plant is a greater focus and specialization. Since Jan. 12, the plant has been operating under "demand flow" techniques aimed at improving efficiency in time, cost and quality, also making the facility more flexible and responsive to customer demand. Succeeding in the highly competitive Internet market will be challenging. Nortel will have to compete against Cisco, Newbridge, Ascent and Bay Networks, all of which are aggressive players on the high-tech stage. "We're extremely excited about the new business unit and to capitalize on this. Belleville must continue to embrace change, and provide fast, flexible solutions and services to our global customers," said Hobbert. The plant, with a workforce of approximately 1,100, will continue to produce popular product lines such as the Passport, DPN, Access (multimedia), Rapport (Internet access) and Broadband (ATM switching) and Meridian Small Systems. These systems are exported to more than 150 countries. Last year the local Nortel plant set a record for sales, reaching the $1 billion mark. There were other accomplishments for the Belleville facility in 1997. It won the prestigious Canada Export Award from the federal gov- ernment in October. It also completed the transfer of production from the California-based MICOM company, which Nortel purchased in 1996. MICOM produced the Marathon product range and jointly developed the Passport 4400 product range with Nortel. The company is now wholly integrated with Nortel, says Hobbert. Behind Nortel's main building is its Electro-Magnetic Compliance testing centre, a state-of-the-art facility constructed mainly of fibreglass and without any metal. It opened in the fall of 1996 and allows Nortel to test its products without sending them to outside regulating bodies. The benefit to Nortel is the elimination of the waiting period that usually precedes such tests, thereby reducing the time to market. "Time-to-market is critical," said Hobbert, "in a field that is highly competitive and governed by constantly evolving technology." By Bill Hunt/The Intelligencer Aron Mengitsu, with NSAM (Nortel Service Access Multiplexer) being configured to verify new products.